Downed trees, power outages, high winds reported in McHenry County area; thousands without power

A tornado watch was in effect until 10 p.m. Thursday in McHenry County, the National Weather Service reports. Thousands of customers in the county were without power Thursday evening.

The tornado watch was issued by the NWS at 3 p.m. for McHenry, Boone and Winnebago counties. The cities in the tornado watch area include Algonquin, Crystal Lake, McHenry, Woodstock, Belvidere and Rockford.

A weather service official said reports were received of 65 mph wind gusts five miles northwest of Marengo and of 55 mph gusts in Boone County five miles east of the town of Herbert, southwest of Marengo. There was also a report of tree damage between McHenry and Volo, north of Lakemoor.

More storms are possible Friday afternoon and evening, the weather service reported.